Hi friends.
Pistachio and Cricket here.
For those reading from afar, we’re based in Ōtautahi, New Zealand and this blog/website is the digital homepage for our industrial art space here which houses 10-15 creatives working in our makerspace/studios, a showcase space/venue, bar, and 2 apartments for the artists living here.
Since returning from the annual event, we thought it would be useful to summarize and share our thoughts. Hopefully, this also dispels some rumors/jargon and encourages people who are looking for the opportunity to participate in a community of radical creative thinkers, doers, and pranksters.
A bit about us.
Cricket is a full-time hand-poke tattoo artist and experience designer.
Preston (aka Pistachio) manages XCHC full time and is working on building a ambitious community of creatives and strengthening the infrastructure that serves their passions and careers.
We’re both members of a collective called Mary Hush that hosts private multi-zoned nightlife events that focus on connection, music, performance, and more immersive and interactive art.
This was our first Burning Man, but we’ve been to a combined number of 11 Regional burns.
Whats a Regional Burn? For over 20 years, the Burning Man Organization has supported a global network of “Burn” events to build the global community.
These are based on the same 10 principles and co-created infrastructure as the “big burn”, and host anywhere from a couple hundred (?), to over 10,000 people.
We’ll talk about the comparison of Regionals and the Big Burn.
CHECK OUT THESE 10 REGIONAL BURNS
There are a few main facets to a burn that make it easier to dissect and explain our experience. We may write a separate article on the “how” part; how to attend as an international traveler, pack, plan, afford, and mentally prepare for the experience, but for the sake of this summarized experience, we’ll stick to telling you about our impressions of the culture, community, and art.
1. Setting the stage ~ The Origins of Burning Man
The Burn followed a culture similar to that of other creative movements/groups that throughout recent history created spectacular art and positive social change. These groups didn’t always identify as “artists” to avoid being grouped in with the mainstream “Arts” where ego and gatekeeping was common and the persuit of approval of institutions and the general public seemed like the focus. The positivity, social benefits, fun, and creativity that emerged through these unique groups inevitably created a ‘vibe’ that grows until it’s undeniably “good art”. As you might expect, the mainstream crowd tends to follow and the Art World then embraces (no doubt with a bit of internal denial) these groups and usually pretends their approval matters and be a HUGE FAN.. kinda pathetic, but that’s just my personal frustration bubbling up. Ignore it. It’s probably not even true…….
Some of these patterns were found in these groups.. for simplicity, I’ll link the Wiki pages, but encourage you to explore Youtube etc.
Dadaists (early 20th century)
Situationists (mid 20th century)
and for Burning Man: The Cacophony Society (late 20th century)
The Cacophony Society turned their cities into playgrounds of silliness, urban exploration missions, flash-mobs, and pranks with elements of activism and social justice sprinkled through their activity. Affiliated with things like BLF (Billboard Liberation Front) and origins in the Suicide Club, they eventually invited any daring followers to venture with them out of the city and into “the Zone”, crossing a threshold where you were encouraged to leave behind what you knew, and be willing and brave to create with others ‘stepping in.’
The 4th “Zone Trip”, titled “Bad Day at Black Rock” was the first Burning Man.
2. Culture
“Uniquely expressive acts get transformed and elaborated into social rites, and through participation they accrue a breadth and depth of meaning which can only be produced in a communal setting. It is the primal process by which culture is created.”
– Larry Harvey (Founder of Burning Man)
With an invitation to step into The Zone, people were invited to leave behind the identity formed in world full of fear and corruption, built on capitalism and social pressures, and step into an environment/group that invited them to be whoever they felt like they truly were, and contribute to building a temporary society where people took creative ideas (and risk) to new levels, while looking after each other; experimenting with new ways of meeting our needs and desires. This has often been the start of a much larger journey for people; becoming a better version of themselves through participation, embracing the community, our creative gifts, and our desire to belong.
This is without a doubt what has been at the heart of Burning Man. But as the definition of “culture” is “the behavior of a group”, then as you can imagine, a large group with a different intention, can impact the culture.
(To lay it straight, according to A Brief History of Who Ruined Burning Man, it’s pretty much always been “ruined”. 27 out of 30 times to be exact. Maybe 28/30 now. But who’s keeping track.)
We definitely observed and felt these opposing forces of culture at work. Evidently a lot of veteran burners did, saying it was worse than usual, but lets be honest, we’re not the same after the pandemic, and there’s a brilliant article explaining What the Fuck Just Happened at Burning Man, but back to our personal experience.
It was often hard to discern who was up for a spontaneous adventure versus who was missioning to hear one of the DJs they came to see play. Or we’d be biking through photoshoots not knowing if they’re one of the photographers capturing incredible sunrises and art work, or a instagram famous sparkle pony filling their log of scheduled posts for the next few months.. (ok, it was actually easy to tell these 2 apart).
Part of the culture/experience is to learn how to coexist with what’s present in our society. Even the parts we don’t understand or agree with. And this seems like more of a test these days to people seeking the experience they’ve previously had at Burning Man.
Our takeaway:
Radical Inclusion is 1 of the 10 principles. And although we feel it’s necessary to have diversity and representation across all cultures, genders, race, age, etc., it is also important to protect the culture. Which may mean being Exclusive to those who don’t align with it.
As hosts of invite-only events (200-550ppl), we’ve seen how trust builds in us as organizers and the wider community by working together on something that we’re proud of and is bigger than our individual selves. It attracts, encourages, and rewards people for behaving respectfully. And there is accountability when people knowingly act in a way that doesn’t match with the values of the event. There are plenty of other events for people not looking for this. But for many, there is a shortage of these environments.
How might Burning Man evolve, protect the culture, and be inclusive?
There’s a festival in France called, Château Perché, and before you can buy a ticket, you have to pass a quiz on ALL of their principles. I don’t think this would stop people determined to party. But it feels like a nice filter. Another thing we think would make a difference is following AfrikaBurns 11th principle, “Each One Teach One”, encouraging those experienced to be helpful to those newly joining in.
3. Infrastructure / Scale
The event is unlike anything we’ve ever seen or imagined. The scale is unfathomable until you’re staring into the sparkle of an art car a 45-min bike ride away knowing you’ll probably find 1,000+ people tearing up the dusty dance floor.
In contrast, the insane attention to detail is equally mind-boggling and often placed in the most unlikely places. So COOL.
But really, a short hour’ish mission to get a bag of ice might turn into an unexpected 2-day adventure. You’re likely to be intercepted by any number of distractions and people with megaphones tempting you with bloody marys, a cool misting, a buffer massage, or a bid/offer you can’t refuse ending in you being auctioned off to a themecamp.. (guilty).
But a vast city with a record number of seriously interesting people and more creative events than you could probably fit into a years timetable was also at times disappointing. It felt like it was so big that there wasn’t a collective ‘flow’ between people, camps, activities and/or engagement with ceremonies. At no point in time did it feel like everyone was on the same level or participating fully. It felt like most people partied hard on arrival, took a day to recharge, partied again, and were mostly ‘done’ & packing up by Saturday day. Many leaving before the Temple Burn Sunday (WTF?!).
This felt contrary to the flow of a Regional Burn where there’s always something to participate in within arms reach throughout the whole week; which, is just a big build-up of energy and chaos guiding us to a climactic Saturday night burn where EVERYONE puts on their best show usually for a solid 24hrs through to Sunday where we all come down and decompress at the temple burn together. Burning Man felt like it lacked this intimacy and collectiveness.
We’re both very capable of making our own fun/adventures, and we were well prepared for the FOMO, we get it, you can’t ever see/do it all, but it was actually hard at times to find the vibe. We didn’t think the events guidebook would be needed, but we’ll probably pay more attention next time instead of leaving 100% of the experience to chance.
How this affected us: We have a new-found appreciation for the smaller regional burns where you’re more likely to see all the art and camps, form new/deeper relationships with others, feel like your participation is more valued (even as someone not directly involved in an art piece or in some official way).
4. The Art & Installations
Holy. Shit.
This definitely surpasses anything you’ll find at a regional burn. Or any gallery, museum, or theme park for that matter. ANYTHING. The number of works, their various levels of interactivity, the art cars, all next level. This is clearly where the intersection of the wealthy and artists meet to push the edge of what we thought could be done just a bit further.
There was art touching on every topic; gender equality, sustainability, loneliness, friendship, our shared planet, trauma, the list goes on. And the mediums were just as incredible; architecture, sound/music, light, rope, and combinations of these of every kind on every level.
How this affected us: Beyond inspired, and motivated to find more artists who are bursting with ideas to make things that might not fit into traditional art spaces, but deserve to be made and experienced.
5. Environment
We saw a photo of a thermometer reading 52°C. And it felt like it. The days were HOT (apparently record levels for Burning Man) and the nights were not as cold as we expected.
There were 2 “white out” dust storms that lasted for a couple hours or more. We expected these to really throw things off, but they actually added an element of excitement and adventure to the mix. It also added a challenge, but the size of the city wasn’t so overwhelming anymore, you only had what was literally right in front of you, so we adventured into the hazy darkness without knowing what we’d stumble upon. Sometimes not knowing where you’re going reminds you that you don’t need to be anywhere else.
In Summary
Preston felt the things he looked forward to the most were somewhat disappointing, but the things he thought would be difficult were actually the best.
Cricket felt all expectations were surpassed, both the good and the bad as expected, but more than expected.
Either way, we both agreed, something powerful happens when you’re in an environment so intense, you feel vulnerable, and you look to the people around you or just to know that you’re not going through any of it alone. So maybe, it’s not so bad, and you might as well create something.
That might be the most powerful lesson and reminder from Burning Man.
It’s likely the one we needed.
If anything, it’s one we learned from.
Ideally, it’s the 1 thing that will never change.
✌🏻
- Pistachio & Cricket
